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Global Tables on G20 Support for SDGs and Development Cooperation

At the core of the Digital Global Solutions Summit are Global Tables, each tackling the T20 and G20 agenda as well as generating policies in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Global Tables are filled with keynotes, discussions, interviews and impulse statements by high-ranking representatives from research, politics, business and civil society.

While progress is made in many places to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and to align economic, social and environmental progress globally; the overall speed and level of action is not sufficient to deliver on the targets set for 2030. The United Nations have hence launched the Decade of Action to speed up transformative change in the 2020s. This panel will discuss what can be learned from successful SDG implementation in different places to scale-up transformative action globally. What are common characteristics of successful SDG projects? What role do national governments, international organisations, business, science and civil society have to play to support effective SDG achievement? What impulses can the G20 give to kick-start the Decade of Action? How can the G20 help to operationalise the “leave no one behind principle” and support SDG achievement in Least Developed Countries? How can the G20 support effective global SDG monitoring by pioneering best practice and supporting other countries?

Achim Steiner
United Nations Development Programme

Paula Caballero
RARE, USA

Panel

Homi Kharas
Brookings, USA

Panel

Izumi Ohno
JICA Ogata Research Institute

Panel

Margo Thomas
Women’s Economic Imperative, USA
Global Solutions Fellow

Panel

Moderator: Declan Curry
Journalist


Matthias Berninger
Bayer AG, Germany

Panel

Tanja Gönner
GIZ 

Panel

Panel

Panel

What can the G20 do to support city leadership on the SDGs?
Partner Global Table: Curated and produced by Tony Pipa, Senior Fellow at Brookings Institution

Prior to the COVID-19 crisis, in a world of rapid urbanization, mayors and municipal officials were increasingly demonstrating their leadership in accelerating social and economic progress to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Their local priorities have taken on added importance as the world plans its recovery from COVID-19. 

This session will explore how the G20 can support and leverage the actions of local leaders to advance sustainable development, especially as their economies emerge from lockdown and they reshape their communities; how the G20 can address the financing constraints that many local governments will face as they seek to enable progress towards the SDGs in the COVID-19 era; and how a healthy institutional relationship between the G20 and U20 can serve as a nexus for alignment and partnership between local and national governments as they jointly pursue a successful long-term recovery that elevates fairness, decreases inequality, and improves sustainability.

Tony Pipa
Brookings Institution

Aziza Akhmouch
OECD

Panel

Mauricio Rodas
University of Pennsylvania

Panel

Moderator: Tony Pipa
Brookings Institution

Panel

Panel

With only 10 years left to realize the 2030 Agenda, there is a common call to boost finance from additional funding sources in order to accelerate sustainable action. At the same time, new finance options and innovative tools are emerging and fueling the international debate on their potential for sustainable development.
Consequently, the United Nation’s Secretary General has appointed the “Task Force on Digital Financing of the SDGs” to investigate how this potential can be unlocked while limiting the associated risks. In order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and climate commitments agreed in 2015, financial flows have to be redirected into critical priorities and away from assets that deplete natural capital. Fintech offers the solution to accelerate the integration of the financial sector into the real economy. It provides the urgently needed opportunities to enable greater decentralization and active participation in the transition to sustainable development.

Discussion: Besides deliberating on emerging policy recommendations put forward by the UN Task Force and on the results of the “German Sustainable Fintech Stocktake” undertaken by the Sustainable Digital Finance Alliance, this panel will discuss how fintech innovations can help to link financial resources with sustainable development pathways, which is a fundamental task especially in light of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. Accelerated by the current crisis, the panel will present examples of social inclusion in financial transactions and markets as well as highlight how digital solutions can increase transparency, accountability and information sharing between regulators, citizens and businesses. The panel will share ideas on how to realize this historic opportunity to shape finance in an innovative way while empowering citizens participation for inclusive sustainable development.

Simon Zadek
UN Task Force on Digital Financing of the SDGs

Jochen Flasbarth
German Ministry for the Environment

Panel

Judith Karl
UN Capital Development Fund

Panel

Anir Chowdhury
a2i, Bangladesh

Panel

Natalie Jabangwe
EcoCash, Zimbabwe

Moderator: Carolin Roth
CNBC

We are within the final decade of the SDG 2030 Agenda and far short of attaining the targets. Since Goal 5 – Women’s economic empowerment cuts across all of the SDGs, “We will not achieve the Sustainable Development Goals if there is no accelerated action to empower women economically” (United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, March 2017).

The challenge therefore is to identify and implement policy solutions to address gender inequities, since “eliminating gender inequities can lead to faster economic growth” (IMF, 2017) and improve social, health, and political outcomes for T20 countries and globally. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic is sharply increasing income gaps and structural inequities across the globe with devastating economic and social implications for women and girls. The goal of this session is to highlight the inter-sectionalities and importance of gender economic equity across the SDGs, particularly as we work on policy responses to address the economic and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In this context, the discussion will identify key issues, propose solutions, and draw from lessons of experience where relevant.

Discussion: Besides deliberating on emerging policy recommendations put forward by the UN Task Force and on the results of the “German Sustainable Fintech Stocktake” undertaken by the Sustainable Digital Finance Alliance, this panel will discuss how fintech innovations can help to link financial resources with sustainable development pathways, which is a fundamental task especially in light of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. Accelerated by the current crisis, the panel will present examples of social inclusion in financial transactions and markets as well as highlight how digital solutions can increase transparency, accountability and information sharing between regulators, citizens and businesses. The panel will share ideas on how to realize this historic opportunity to shape finance in an innovative way while empowering citizens participation for inclusive sustainable development.

Thoraya Obaid
W20 Chair

Toyin Abiodun
Tony Blair Institute for Global Change

Moderator: Margo Thomas
Women’s Economic Imperative; Global Solutions Fellow

Panel

Merike Blofield
Institute of Latin American Studies at the German Institute for Global and Area Studies

Panel

Mayra Buvinic
Data2X

Panel

Barbara Orser
University of Ottawa

Amanda Shaw
University of Hawai’i at Manoa

Policy Recommendations, Policy Briefs and Articles

Policy Briefs on G20 Support for SDGs and Development Cooperation​

Policy Briefs contain recommendations and visions and cover policy ares that are of interest to G20 policymakers. The majority of the Policy Briefs has been developed by a corresponding T20 Task Force.

T20 Recommendations Report: 2030 Agenda for  Sustainable Development

Compiled by Katharina Lima de Miranda (IfW Kiel), Juliane Stein-Zalai (IfW Kiel) and Simon Wolf (Global Solutions Initiative)

Advancing Enterprise Education for Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) among MENA Countries 

By Dinah Bennett, Margo Thomas, Barbara Orser, Haya Al-Dajani and Khulood A. Rambo (Women’s Economic Imperative)

People’s Money: Harnessing Digitalization to Finance a Sustainable Future

Final Report by the United Nations Secretary-General’s Task Force on Digital Financing of the Sustainable Development Goals

Improve Handwashing Access to Combat COVID-19

By KE Seetha Ram and Roshan Shrestha (ADBI)

The New Inequalities and People-To-People Social Protection

By Nora Lustig (IPSP) and Nancy Birdsall (Center for Global Development)

Disease, Like Poverty, Does Not Stay at Home

By Yonas Adepto, Karim El Aynaoui, Thomas Gomart, Paolo Magri, Greg Mill, Karin von Hippel, and Guntram Wolff (ISPI)

Harnessing Digitalization in Financing of the Sustainable Development GoalsPolitics of Pandemic

By the United Nations Secretary-General’s Task Force on Digital Financing of the Sustainable Development Goals

COVID-19 and Latin America 

By Merike Blofield (Institute of Latin American Studies at GIGA)

Driving Africa’s industrialisation on the back of COVID-19

By Toyin Abiodun (Ministry of Trade, Rwanda; Tony Blair Institute for Global Change)

Implementing the SDGs – Global Solutions Journal

With or without you – Global Solutions Journal

Contributions by the Young Global Changers

Ninety young people from around the world were selected to participate in the Global Solutions Summit as Young Global Changers. These young changemakers from academica, business and civil society will contribute and debate in their various working groups on the Summit topics.

Statement Video on G20 Support for SDGs and Development Cooperation by the 2020 YGCs

Take a look at the video with statements and questions by the YGC Working Group on G20 Support for SDGs and Development Cooperation.

Related Projects by the 2020 YGCs

The Young Global Changers work on projects and initiatives that are pushing for change.

Explore the Digital Global Solutions Summit 2020

You can navigate to content related to the Global Solutions Summit here. Discover the T20 agenda, an overview of all Global Tables, meet the speakers and read the latest issue of the Global Solutions Journal. Also navigate to the G20 Insights Platform offers policy proposals to the G20: The Policy Briefs, produced by Task Forces from the Think20 (T20) Group and other sources, are clustered in policy areas and describe either recommendations or visions.

Themes

Sessions focus on the G20 and T20 agenda and also address the political response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Underlying all topics is the narrative on Recoupling.

Overview »

Program

Global Tables shape the program of this Summit. With a specific focus within a topic area they consist of keynotes and panel discussions, supplemented by vision statements. Participants are invited to contribute to the contents. 

All Global Tables »

Speakers

The Global Solutions Summit is a meeting of global problem solvers, including thought leaders and decision-makers from research, politics, business and civil society.

All Speakers »

Journal

The Journal for this Summit provides a bridge between visions, recommend­ations and action. Find articles from academics as well as from implementers.

Previous issues »

Policy Briefs

The G20 Insights Platform offers policy proposals to the G20. It is  an initiative of the T20 Engagement Group. 

G20 Insights »

Any Questions?

If you have any questions about the Digital Global Solutions Summit 2020 and its program, please contact us at contact@global-solutions-initiative.org.

As a media representative please contact press@global-solutions-initiative.org for more information. Please also note our press kitpress releases and comments published on the Digital Global Solutions Summit 2020.

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